Conditioned air, either heated air, cooled air, de-humidified air, humidified air, or mixtures thereof, is distributed into diverse enclosed spaces within a building by means of appropriate ducts leading into appropriate ceiling outlets or wall outlets. Diverse types of diffusers have been designed in the past, some provided with dampers and with fins that may be individually adjustable, for attempting to provide effective distribution of the conditioned air according to the particular conditions prevalent in the enclosed spaces.
A particular disadvantage of the types of air diffusers heretofore available is that they are generally incapable of providing even distribution of conditioned air through the enclosed space, without creating drafts and uneven distribution of the conditioned air, with the result that, more particularly with respect to cooled conditioned air, uncomfortable blasts of cold air are prevalent in some areas of the enclosed space, while other areas remain uncomfortably warm.
The present invention remedies the inconveniences of the prior art by providing air diffusers for ceiling outlets as well as for wall outlets which are particularly effective in preventing direct flow of air into the enclosed space, which are particularly effective in slowing down the flow of air in distributing the conditioned air evenly throughout the space, and in mixing the conditioned air thoroughly with the secondary air, or air already present in the space.
The diffusers of the present invention present particular advantages where it is desirable to cool the air supplied to an enclosed space. By separating the flow of cooled air into separate individual streams or jets, the invention permits mixing of the room air, or secondary air, with the cooled air without causing drafts or uncomfortable wide heat gradients. As the incoming cool air is thoroughly mixed with the secondary air, better control of the temperature within the enclosure is provided, and the location of the return air openings is no longer critical. Smooth and even air circulation and ventilation are provided, without stratification or separation between cold and warm air, and there is no longer any requirement to re-heat cooled air before distributing to a confined space to avoid ingress into the space of contrasting low temperature air currents. The air diffuser of the present invention thus promotes considerable savings in energy.